Sometimes, the truth is stranger than fiction. I picked up this week’s copy of Investor’s Business Daily and flipped to page A4. I saw myself quoted in a nationally-circulated newspaper for investment bankers and business leaders. The topic?  How to dress for success. Those that know me well, know that I was tragically born without a sense of fashion, so how did this possibly come to be?

Getting discovered

I’ve been blogging weekly for nearly three years now. I’d by lying if I didn’t acknowledge that I secretly hope that one of these weeks I’m “going to be discovered.” It’s probably a carry-over from my rock n’ roll days, when I dreamed of making it big as a rock star. That never happened, so perhaps my writing will catch the attention of the right person.

I’m not exactly sure what I’m hoping happens. Every once and a while, one of my blogs turns into a local speaking invitation, or a podcast guest appearance, but never anything major. I’ve never written anything that has “gone viral” by any stretch of that definition.

The call

About six months ago, I wrote the article “Hoodie or Suit: How to Dress Like a Technology Executive.” I really like the article. It performed pretty well, but as typical, it didn’t go gangbusters. Out of the blue, a few weeks ago, a reporter from Investor’s Business Daily contacted me. He read my article. He said he was writing a piece on how leaders can differentiate themselves with how they dress when they want to stand out in a positive way. He asked me for an interview.

The interview

After a quick check with my PR department at work, I took the interview. I enjoyed talking to Morey Stettner from Investor’s Business Daily. I gave my admission that I don’t consider myself worthy of giving fashion advice to anyone, and then we talked about my real passion: making an impact as a leader.

We discussed in-depth my observations of impactful leaders. Leaders, by definition, challenge norms and blaze trails. Why is it that those same leaders play it safe and blend in with their attire? I’ve observed that the most impactful technology leaders find a way to break with tradition and push the boundaries of what is expected in business, and in attire.

The article

Morey Stettner wrote a fantastic article on the subject and quoted a number of great sources. I encourage every one of you to read the entire article here. My contribution was recorded toward the end. I’ve quoted the entire section here:

In your eagerness to not conform to prevailing norms, you can go too far. So strike the right balance by “finding ways to be a little different,” says Zach Hughes, a Minneapolis-based technology blogger. Examples include an idiosyncratic tie or stylish hat.

“Powerful leaders find ways to break patterns,” Hughes said. “It’s a degree of nonconformity to show you’re bold enough” to add a distinctive flourish.

He warns against trying too hard to stand out. Subtlety works better than gaudiness.

“Don’t overplay the confidence,” he said. “It should come from a place of confidence that you’ve earned, a track record of blazing trails.” Lacking that stature, you’re better off making safer bets with small tweaks to your appearance.

The newspaper

Like most people my age, I don’t get any newspapers delivered to my home. Even though I faithfully delivered them as a kid, I never picked up the habit of reading them as an adult. While it was cool to see the article to which I contributed on the investors.com website, I wanted to get my hands on a hard copy of the actual newspaper. That proved to be a bit of a scavenger hunt.

Where do you buy investor newspapers? The newsstand? The trading floor of Wall Street? That would be great if I lived in New York City, but there aren’t any in suburban Minnesota as far as I know. I thought about a bookstore, but those are mostly gone too. My wife, Wendy, and I called around to the few Barnes & Noble bookstores that still exist. We eventually found one that had one copy of the newspaper I sought. It was 18 miles away. I tried to talk myself out of making the trip, but Wendy told me to go. I suppose she didn’t want me to kick myself later for not getting it.

What’s it like holding a newspaper with your name on it? It was cool for 30 seconds. Then, I just had the sudden urge to clip out the article and mail it to my mom.

There you have it. This is how I gave fashion advice to the 100,000 subscribers of Investors Business Daily plus however many read the article on investors.com. I hope you enjoyed my story.

Where’s the leadership lesson in all of this? I think it’s important to put yourself out there. It’s risky. It’s hard. Most of the time, it doesn’t amount to much. Sometimes it does. When it does, it matters. I know that what I write inspires people. Perhaps not this time, but maybe the next time. Most importantly, I need to keep doing it. Are you?